Harry Potter and the Life After the Old
by ShepherdMoons
Summary: Harry Potter, and his friend Ron Weasley are waiting at Kings Cross Station for a certain someone to get off the train. A little Post Hogwarts Story, starting at the end of Ginny's time at Hogwarts.
1. Introduction

Harry Potter and the Life After the Old

Introduction – The Return of the Hogwarts Express

Voices filled the platform as nineteen-year-old Harry Potter, accompanied by his friend Ron Weasley, came through the magical barrier. A few of Harry's old friends shook his hand as they went passed. Harry and Ron were at the station to greet a certain someone off the train.

"The Hogwarts Express will be arriving shortly. Please stay back from the edge of the platform," said the magically amplified voice of the platform officer.

"About time too," said Harry, craning his neck to see if he could see the train coming.

"A bit keen, aren't you?" said Ron. "After all, it's only Ginny that we're waiting for."

"Only Ginny? ONLY GINNY" Harry cried incredulously. "She's my girlfriend, and I haven't seen her for a month"

"Big deal, she's my sister and I haven't seen her since Easter. You write, don't you?" said Ron

"Of course I do, just…you don't realise how bad it is to be away from your girlfriend…just because you live with Hermione now…." Harry replied

"You don't know what it's like to have Mum constantly badgering you about wedding dates and grandchildren," said Ron

"Fine, point taken, but at least you see Hermione everyday."

"Suppose…hey look!" said Ron, looking over Harry's shoulder

Harry looked around, and with a hiss of steam and a blast from its whistle, the Hogwarts Express began slowing with a screech of brakes to an eventual stop at platform nine and three quarters. Doors began to open, and students ran to their waiting families, talking excitedly and introducing friends. A group of wizards dressed in light blue robes were magically moving trunks off the train and on to the owners waiting trolleys.

Harry was now desperately searching for his girlfriend in the crowd. He hadn't noticed her get off the train. He was about to perform a summoning spell when he felt a tap on his shoulder, and heard a familiar voice say:

"Nice hair. I see you borrowed one of my hair ties"

"Ginny!" Harry said, whirling round. He was looking into the smiling face of Ginny Weasley. He wrapped his arms around her, then kissed her lips

"Err, mate?" said Ron after a few minutes

"Sorry," said a flushed but happy Harry, who picked up Ginny's trunk in one hand, took Ginny's hand in the other, then let Ron lead them to his newly acquired car.


	2. Dinner

Chapter 1 - Dinner

As it turned out, Ron had rather taken to muggle life. Hermione had been working at the Office of Muggle Affairs in the Ministry of Magic. She had financed the buying of a house in the muggle town of Warwick. Hermione commuted everyday by floo powder, while Ron stayed at home reading books on muggle life, watching television and learning to cope in a muggle house. Ron's latest achievement was passing the muggle driving test, and he took great pleasure in driving his friends and family everywhere.

This was why, on a warm July Sunday afternoon, a Ford Focus carrying Harry, Ron and Ginny pulled into the long driveway at Ottery St. Catchpole that lead up to the Burrow.

"Nice to be home," said Ginny from the front passenger seat, looking at the house coming closer.

"Mum's cooking us a nice meal," said Ron, carefully avoiding the chickens and bringing the car to a perfect stop just outside the front door.

"Well, here you are" said Harry, escaping from the back of the car and stretching his legs, taking the opportunity to hug Ginny again.

"Ok, break it up guys," said Ron, taking Ginny's trunk out of the back of the car, and proudly locking the car.

"Well driven Ron. Didn't know you would turn out to be like dad," said Ginny. Ron went red around the ears, and led the way into the house.

"Ron! Ginny! Harry Lovely to see you all again" said Molly Weasley, coming into the hallway from the kitchen "Your father should be home soon. He's gone fishing with Hermione's father."

"He's still doing that?" asked Ginny sceptically "Is he any good?"

"He caught five last weekend. He's getting better. Anyway, you go and get yourself sorted. Nice to have you back, Ginny. Boys, You're helping with dinner," said Molly, kissing her daughter's cheek, and beckoning the boys to follow her into the kitchen.

"Thanks, Mum!" said Ginny, taking her trunk upstairs to her room.

"Right. Ron, you can do the potato salad. When you've done that, count out the right amount of cutlery. Harry, chop those tomatoes, slice this cucumber and grate that cheese there. I'll be picking fruit in the orchard should you need me," said Molly, pointing to where everything was, then gathering a basket and a sun hat, then exiting the house into the garden

Harry and Ron went to work at their tasks, chatting occasionally about Harry's job as Sport Correspondent at the Daily Prophet. After a while Ginny came down and began helping Harry with his chopping and cutting.

"Wonder when the others will..." Ginny was cut off by the sudden arrival of Hermione, Arthur, Bill, Charlie, Fred and George, all apparating into the kitchen

"Woah" exclaimed Ron, checking his precious potato salad, making sure there was no damage done.

"Hi all, just thought we would drop in," said Fred

"Drop in is the word alright," said Ginny

"Yay,ickle Ginny's back" said George, running over to hug her.

"Careful, George. We don't want Harry getting all jealous," said Charlie.

"Good to see you again, Charlie," said Harry, ignoring the comment "Ready for another bit of Quidditch this time?"

"It's a deal, Potter," said Charlie, winking.

"Oh, hello boys. Right. Fred and George, take the tables out side. Bill, set the table with the right amount of spaces. Charlie, put the plates out, and Arthur, go and sort out some drinks."

"But Mum" said all the boys in chorus.

"We've only just got here!" said Fred

"Well do you want dinner or not?" said Mrs Weasley, going back to her kitchen.

After the war, Bill and Charlie had gone back to their original jobs in Egypt and Romania. They had decided, at their mother's insistence, that they come home more often to see the family in England. Arthur had taken a new post at the Ministry as Chief Minister of Muggle Affairs. This meant that he occasionally had to have meetings with the Muggle Government, so had called on the Grangers to help him get together with some Muggle etiquette.

Harry was the Sports Correspondent for the Daily Prophet. This was a post which he was passionately devoted to, and had gained a reputation as a notable Quidditch journalist. He had considered playing Quidditch professionally, but had decided to just keep flying and Quidditch to his spare time. He lived in a flat in the Muggle city of Birmingham. This put him close, but not too close, to Ron and Hermione. He apparated everyday to the offices of the Daily Prophet in Diagon Alley.

After they had left Hogwarts, the three friends had lived in a small flat in London together. Hermione was taking exams to enter the Ministry of Magic, Harry was pondering whether to play or write about Quidditch, and Ron was just being Ron. Soon after, Ron and Hermione married, and moved away from London. Hermione had got the job she wanted in the Office of Muggle Affairs, and Ron was being trained in the way of all things Muggle. Harry was left alone, waiting for Ginny to come back from Hogwarts. He applied for the job of a sports columnist in the Daily Prophet, and after a particularly good article, was promoted to Correspondent of Sport at the Daily Prophet only after three months on the job.

After that, Harry had decided to move to Birmingham. He wanted to get away from London, and he also wanted to be near, but not too near, his two best friends. Ron was always glad to help Harry with his Quidditch writings, and he came to most of the matches that Harry was writing up. Ron was also assisting Harry with a new section of the Sports pages devoted to Tactics.

Ginny had finally completed her last year at Hogwarts, despite the events of the war that ended only a year ago. She and Harry had been together since her sixth year and his seventh. They had been through the war together, which made them closer than ever. Harry had been searching for an engagement ring during the year, and planned to make use of it fairly soon.

Harry and Ron were playing a heated game of chess. Hermione and Ginny were sitting opposite each other next to the chess board. Harry had improved a lot at chess over the last year, since he had been called on to write up the Wizarding Chess Tournament. He had been playing a lot of chess, and Ron was only too willing to help him learn.

"Harry, you're too good, mate," said Ron, wiping his brow.

"Not yet, I can see something you can do to finish me off there," Harry replied, looking at the board.

"What?" asked Ron, concentrating on the board.

"Not going to tell you, am I?" said Harry. "Come on! Make your move, we haven't got all night you know," said Harry

"I know, I know," said Ron, making his move. "Check."

"Bugger…"said Harry, looking at the board. "You didn't do what I thought you would, but what you did worked anyway."

"Well come on then, Harry. I can see two ways to get you out of it, and three ways of getting you to check mate," said Ron

"You know, Harry, you might want to look there," said Ginny, pointing at two of Ron's pieces.

"Thanks, Gin," said Harry, making his move.

"Check Mate. Another reason why you should never listen to your girlfriend," said Ron, laughing, and shaking Harry's hand.

"Well, I did that because I can smell food. Dinner must be almost ready," said Ginny, getting up, and put a hand out to pull Harry up.

"Ah well. Never could beat the reigning champion, could I?" said Harry, letting Ginny pull him up.

"Dinner!" said Mrs Weasley, appearing in the doorway to the living room.

"Right Mum," said Ron, getting up and putting his chess pieces away.

All of the Weasleys appeared from the different parts of the house, and made their way outside to the table that Bill and Charlie had set earlier. Mrs Weasley had once again outdone herself with the amount of food she had cooked. Ron's potato salad took pride of place somewhere near the top end of the table, where Mr Weasley had just sat himself.

"Thank you all for coming. And congratulations to Ginny, who passed all of her NEWTs. And to Bill who has settled down with Fleur, much to her mothers delight in the end. And the Twins. What would we do without them? And of course to Harry and Hermione who are distinguished guests of honour here tonight" said Arthur, standing to make his announcement.

"Cheers to all, and many happy years to come" said Fred

With a clink of glasses and a chorus of cheers, all the Weasley's plus Harry and Hermione settled down to their meal.

Several hours later, when everyone had finished eating, Mr and Mrs Weasley got up to go and do the washing up, while the rest talked and played a large game of Poker. This was Ron's idea, since he had been taught how to play poker by his elderly next door neighbour in Warwick. He had explained the rules to them all, and all were thoroughly confused, although Harry and Hermione were quickly picking it up. After another hour or so, they had finished the game. It had not taken Ron long to finish the game. Mr and Mrs Weasley had appeared to check how things were going, and had ended up watching their youngest son thrash the rest of his siblings, wife and friends.

After a while, Bill and Charlie got up to leave. They were going to stay in London then take an early journey back to Egypt and Romania respectively. Fred and George apparated back to Hogsmeade, where they were sharing a flat together above their shop. Ron and Hermione were heading off home to Warwick. That left the Weasley parents, Ginny and Harry sitting around in the living room in the Burrow.

"Its good to have you back Ginny" said Mr Weasley after a while "What are you going to do?"

"I was thinking of entering the Ministry. But I'm not sure really" she said smiling happily, and snuggling into Harry's arms

"Have you considered Quidditch?" asked Harry

"I've thought about it. Not sure." She replied sleepily

"Well you have to decide sometime soon don't you" said Mrs Weasley, getting up from her seat, and yawning "Come on, Arthur. Lets head to bed. Are you staying here tonight Ginny, or going back to Harry's?"

"If Harry doesn't mind, I think I'll stay at home" said Ginny

"Alright dear. See you in the morning. Thanks for coming Harry" said Mrs Weasley, heading for the stairs while Mr Weasley dragged himself up off the sofa

"G'night all" he said

"Night" said Harry in reply

They waited a while until no sound was heard from the upstairs. Harry leaned over and kissed Ginny tenderly on the lips.

"I've missed you" he said

"Missed you too" she replied, kissing him back.

They sat in each others company for what seemed like an eternity, occasionally broken with short conversation and a kiss. Just as Ginny was about to fall asleep, Harry got up from the sofa

"I'd best be going" he said, holding out a hand to Ginny who was on the sofa

"Ok. I'll come round and see you tomorrow" she said, taking his hand, and pulling herself off the sofa. They kissed, and Harry apparated away leaving Ginny standing in the living room with a dreamy smile on her face. Tomorrow was Saturday. A weekend. Perfect for a lie in. Ginny made her way upstairs to her room. At 1am, after a long day, peace descended on the Burrow


	3. The Quidditch Review

Harry Potter and the Life After the Old

Chapter 2 – The Quidditch Review

Harry awoke the next morning to the sounds of rain outside his window. He lay in his bed, recalling the events of yesterday with a smile. He got up out of bed, showered, magically dried his hair, then tied it back once again with Ginny's hair tie. He walked through to his kitchen, and picked up his Muggle post from the door mat. _"Phone bill, electricity bill, gas bill"_ Harry though, mentally deducting this money from his bank account. With his post was the muggle newspaper _The Times_, which he read to keep up to date with the muggle news.

Today he was planning to go and see Ron at home. He also had a ticket for Ginny, but had not told her that it was happening yet. Since watching Quidditch was Harry's job, he would be sitting in the commentators room, watching the game from high above the normal spectator. His two guests would sit in the VIP box, along with several other journalists and the team captains.

Having eaten some breakfast, he made to get ready to go out. Being a July day, it was warm outside. British summers have never been renowned for their heat, and today was no exception to the rule. Hoping to please Hermione, Harry decided to get the train to Warwick to see Ron, and so it was that he found himself walking to Birmingham Snow Hill station to get the train. After Voldemort had been defeated, the Ministry had encouraged greater integration into muggle society. To this end, many wizards were sending their children to muggle primary schools. Hermione, along with Arthur had been the one who had put forward these plans when she entered her job in the Ministry. Naturally, the original rules about concealing magic use were still strictly in place.

"Harry! Hi!" said Ron, opening the door to his house

"Hiya. Ready for the match later?" asked Harry, walking in

"Just about. Hermione had to go to work this morning to help someone with a research project that their department is doing" said Ron, moving through to the kitchen "Coffee?"

"No thanks, Ron. Just had one. So, this could be the big comeback match for the Canons eh?" he said

"It could be. Since they've completely reorganised their team. New coach and captain. Should be interesting to see" said Ron, still a vehement supporter of the Chudley Canons.

"Yea, but the Falcons have had the same Coach, and same Captain for ten years at least, and they're a world class team. Two players on the National team from the Falcons" Harry pointed out

"Well. Let's all just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best eh?" said Ron "Where is it?"

"On Anglesey" said Harry. Anglesey is a small Island just off the North tip of Wales. It is only reachable by a road bridge and a rail bridge. It is an area with a small population, so an ideal place for one of the English Quidditch Stadiums.

"Ah right" Ron said, leaving Hermione a note on the kitchen table "Time?"

"11.05. We should leave. Starts at twelve and I've got to get ready" Harry said, looking at his watch

"What about Ginny?" said Ron

"Ah. Yes. Excuse me for a second" said Harry, who remembered about the spare ticket, and apparated to the Burrow.

"Hello?" said Harry, appearing in the living room in the Burrow, and rushing into the kitchen. There seemed to be no one around. He looked around the rest of the lower floor of the Burrow, then decided to head upstairs to Ginny's room to find her. He knocked on the door.

"I'm busy, Mum" came Ginny's voice from inside

"I'm not mum, I'm Harry" said Harry. He heard a scrambling behind the door, and a few seconds later the door opened

"Sorry!" said Ginny hugging him "Mum's been trying to make me research for jobs already! I just want a little break first"

"Well, that's a coincidence, because I wondered if you wanted to come to the Falcons/Cannons match" he said

"But that's in, what, half an hour now?" said Ginny

"I know. You coming?" asked Harry

"Yea, ok" said Ginny, who went back into the room, grabbed a handbag and a coat, then came out again.

"That was quick" said Harry

"Thinking of the girls take ages thing eh?" said Ginny, heading downstairs "Mum's not in. She's gone shopping in the village. I'll just leave a note…apparate to Ron's. I'll meet you there in a sec"

"Ok. See you there" Harry said, and then apparated with a small 'pop' away from the Burrow. Ginny scribbled her note, and followed on soon afterwards.

"Alright Mr Potter?" said Joe, the security guard outside the reporters box

"Yes thanks, Joe. Should be an interesting match this one" he replied "Here's the pass"

Joe took the pass, and checked with a spell, then handed it back

"All ok, Mr Potter. Enjoy the game" he said with a smile

"You too, Joe. See you later" said Harry. Joe nodded in reply and opened the door for him.

Harry walked into the large windowed room, and took in the usual scene of desks littered with paper, memos flying in from other parts of the ground and outside the ground, the usual group from the WWSN (Wizarding Wireless Sport Network) speaking a pre-game commentary. Harry sat down at the desk that was marked out for him. It read "For the use of Mr H. Potter – Sports Correspondent, _Daily Prophet Sports._" He took the bag off his shoulder, sat down at the desk and removed three roles of parchment, the usual limit for a Quidditch Review, and two quills.

_The Quidditch Review – Falmouth Falcons v. Chudley Cannons, Saturday 27th July 2002_

_Like all come back games, the Falmouth Falcons have been picked as the contenders for the come back team. This week, the team is the Chudley Cannons, a world renowned team for having the largest loss record of any league team. However, with the new Captain, Billius Tidbit, and the new Coach, Verelda Snork (formerly of the Falcons), the Cannons hope to be able to change their motto back to its original 'We Shall Conquer'. Of course, the Falcons have a reputation of being a rather violent team, and a team to test the new skills of an old one. This is naturally the reason for the interesting match up of teams this fine Saturday afternoon._

_A note on the pitch conditions – the weather is fine and sunny, a light easterly wind, with cloud forecast to follow later in the afternoon. The pitch is dry, so there will be a good kick off. _

_The team line ups:_

_As mentioned earlier, the captain and coach of the Chudley Cannons have changed since the last season. This was as a result of pressure from the owners of the club to try and get a win. The new line up is as follows:_

_Captain: Billius Tidbit (2002 - )_

_Coach: Verelda Snork (2002 - )_

_Seeker: Galvin Gudgeon (1992 - )_

_Chasers: Val and Ken Doderidge (1999 - ) and Albus Nad (1998 - )_

_Beaters: Joey Jenkins (1994 - ) and William Long (1996 - )_

_Keeper: Dean Murphey (1991 - )_

_The Falmouth Falcons celebrated last year when the two sons of the 1959 Beaters, Kevin and Karl Broadmoor were accepted on to the team as the beaters. The team line up remains the same since last year:_

_Captain: Randolph Parker (1978 - )_

_Coach: Gavin Breaker (1999 - )_

_Seeker: Ramni Willston (1992 - )_

_Chasers: Perry Cowes (1998 - ), Wilma Parry (1997 - ) and Geoff Knight (1998 - )_

_Beaters: Dan and Dave Broadmoor (2001 - )_

_Keeper: Duncan Roster (2000 - )_

_A relatively young team for the Falcons, has proven successful in the past. The long lived Seeker, Willston has had a success rate of 220 catches to 14 losses. The Falcons are a force to be reckoned with, but from rumours on the practice grapevine, the Cannons have really pulled their socks up with the new coach, so this should be an interesting match to see. _

_The game got off to a good start. The Referee, Weldon Parvis (1995 - ), started the game at exactly 12.00pm. The kick off put the Cannons at an immediate advantage. Their players have been weak on kick-offs in the past, so it is clear that the training has been going into sorting this fault. The Seeker is using the shadowing tactic, whereby he flies around the top of the game, keeping eyes peeled. Both teams seem to be avoiding direct following, due to the new League by-law preventing this action. The first score was surprisingly by the Cannons, where Doderidge and Nad completed a perfect "one-two" pass along the field. The Beaters, Jenkins and Long are giving the Broadmoor brothers a run for their money. A lot of training has clearly gone into this team. The score was equalised after the first hour of play. The score being ten-ten, with ferocious defence from both teams. The Cannons really are proving to be that force to be reckoned with. As play continues, the forecast cloud brings shadow over the stadium and a light wind picks up. The score has now risen to 30-20 to the Falcons. Goals scored by Nad for the Cannons, and Cowes and Knight for the Falcons. At 14.43, Gudgeon performs a perfect Wronski Feint. The plan works, as the Falcons Seeker Willston follows the move. Both remained unscathed, however, and play continues, with the Broadmoor's becoming more desperate. The score has lifted to 40-30 to the Cannons, the Cannons taking the distraction as an advantage. The game now flows into a stale mate, with the defense and attack of each team proving to be equally good. At 16.23, Dave Broadmoor of the Falcons manages to damage Nad's broom, causing the Cannons to play down with only two chasers. A penalty was awarded, which was scored by Val Doderidge. The end of play came at 17.45, after five hours and forty-five minutes of play. The Snitch was caught by the Cannons Seeker, Gudgeon, which makes this day the first victory the Cannons have had since 1892._

_The quality of play in this match was outstanding by both teams. We congratulate the Cannons on their excellent victory against the Falcons. An excellent comeback for a once floundering team. Tactical Comment from this match will be supplied by Ron Weasley in Monday's edition of the Daily Prophet_

_Harry Potter, Sports Correspondent, Holyhead, Anglesey. _

Harry set down his quill. He picked up the two scrolls of parchment which made up the review, and tied them to the post owl, that was waiting to send it off to London to be published in the _Evening Prophet._

He got up off his desk. That was the twenty-eighth review for Quidditch that he had written in his time as correspondent, it was certainly the most interesting match that he had seen in a long time.

Needless to say, Ron was ecstatic. He and Ginny had been sitting in the VIP box, and Ginny had apparently had a hard time trying to calm Ron down at the end of the match. Due to Harry's connections in the Quidditch World, Ginny and he had privately decided to take him to the Cannons training ground on his birthday. This had been Ron's dream from all those years ago when he first became a fan of the team.

"What a game eh?" said Joe as Harry exited the reporters box.

"Quite something. Didn't expect it though" Harry replied "I expected the Falcons to win, but by a narrow margin"

"Something of sorts, Mr Potter. See you at the next game?" said Joe

"Indeed. Bye Joe. Take care" said Harry, shaking Joe's hand, and then taking the stairs down to the bottom of the tower.

"HARRY!!! WE WON!!! WE WON!!!! WE WON!!!!" said Ron, jumping up and down with excitement

"Well, we didn't, but the Cannons did" said Harry. Ron looked confused for a minute, shrugged, and carried on walking out of the ground towards the apparating point. Ginny walked up to Harry and put an arm around his waist. He returned the gesture, and together they walked into the gradually setting summer sun, with Ron making a fool of himself just ahead of them.

Authors Note:

Thank you all for the reviews. I do plan to carry on this story, maybe with not quite as quick a submission rate as some stories. I have a lot of college work on the side to do, so unfortunately that has to take first priority. But even though there maybe gaps, I plan to update at the very least once a month, and hopefully more often. Thanks once again.


	4. Inevitable

Harry Potter and the Life After the Old

Chapter 3 – Inevitable

After the match, Harry, Ron and Ginny apparated to Harry's flat in the centre of Birmingham. Ron was still ecstatic about the win, and spent an entire evening telling Harry and Ginny how wrong they were to doubt the Cannons all this time.

"…and that goal during the 3rd hour! That was just amazing! The skill in the team now is just second to none…except possibly England" Ron said for the fifth time that evening "All those years that I was supporting them and you mocking me!"

"Yes we know Ron. But thanks for rubbing it in" said Ginny, impatience showing in her voice

"You've certainly got a lot of stuff to put into your Tactics article tomorrow" said Harry

"Yea I know! That catch that Gudgeon did! And the Wronski Feint! The Falcons chaser formations went well too" Ron said, recalling the game

"Certainly some top flying there by both sides I think" said Ginny

"Yea…well I'd better go. Hermione's probably wondering what happened" said Ron, getting up from the sofa

"Thank God" Ginny said to herself

"Sorry?" said Ron, glancing over at her

"I said 'shame'" said Ginny, winking at Harry, who smirked

"Well mate, nice to see you" said Ron

"Yea. See you at the office on Monday" said Harry

"Bye Ron" said Ginny, getting up and hugging her brother

"Bye sis" said Ron, waving at Harry, then apparated out of the room

"Drink?" said Harry

"What've you got?" she replied

"Er, lets just have a look…" said Harry

"You shouldn't offer something that you haven't got Harry…very bad hosting skills" Ginny said in her best motherly telling off tone

"Ok, I have Baileys, and whatever this stuff is" said Harry, pointing to a green glass bottle

"That's Ogdens Firewhiskey…cant you tell by the shape of the bottle?" said Ginny

"Nope…but that must be what happened to my birthday present from Ron…" Harry said, warily eying the bottle

"I'm ok for a drink then" said Ginny

"Sorry…" said Harry, walking back over to the sofa where they sat together, listening to the sounds of the city die away. Eventually, Ginny made to leave. They said their good nights, and kissed. Ginny apparated away from Harry's flat, leaving him alone in the living room.

Harry cleaned the room with a spell, and walked through to the kitchen where he drank a glass of water. He set the glass down on the table and said to himself

"Right. I'm going to do it tomorrow." With that, he walked through to his bedroom and went to sleep.

The next dawned bright and sunny. It was a Sunday. The day after the match and another late night meant that Harry stayed in bed until at least 10 o'clock. After deciding to finally propose to Ginny the night before, he had decided to go and find a suitable ring, then go and ask Arthur Weasley about his plan. Naturally, he was nervous, and felt strange about the prospect of asking his near father for his daughters hand in marriage. _"Wonder how Ron did it"_ Harry thought as he ate his breakfast. He was mulling over where to go to get the ring, when post Owl flew in with the _Daily Prophet_ and the _Sunday Times_. The Muggle paper was delivered by Owl on Sundays to all Wizarding families in the country. This was part of the new policies by the Ministry of Magic to increase Muggle integration. Under the headline _"Cannons smash the Falcons in Comeback"_ there was a photograph of the Chudley Cannons celebrating, waving and dancing. Then followed the article Harry had written the day before.

Harry finished his bowl of cereal, and got up. He shaved, then got dressed into pale Chino trousers and a blue checked shirt. He concealed his wand up his right sleeve as usual, and left his flat. Harry had never really shopped in Birmingham, and he made his way around the Bullring Shopping Centre wondering how the Muggles managed to invent such a place without magic. _"We should give them more credit"_ though Harry, walking into a very strange looking building that housed a department store. After not much luck in the muggle world, Harry decided to head off to London, and Diagon Alley. He walked back to his flat, where he could apparate without fear of being seen by cameras, or people.

"Mr Potter! How about that game eh? Quite something!" said Tom the barkeeper

"Was something wasn't it" said Harry, sitting up at the bar while Tom poured him some tea "Did you see it?"

"Was listening on the wireless. Had it on in here yesterday" he said, taking the money that Harry handed him for the tea "So what brings you to London?"

"Shopping" Harry said, taking a first cautious sip from the tea

"Like the most of people. You know, Quidditch Supplies have already run out of Cannons replica robes. There's been a huge wave of support for them" Tom said, moving around behind the bar, preparing a drink for another customer

"To be honest, I'm not surprised. The Cannons deserve a win after all this time" said Harry

"Talking about the game?" said a new voice next to Harry

"Yes. What can I get you?" said Tom to the newcomer

"Got any of that Moroccan Tea?" he asked

"Yes we have. Some of that for you then?" said Tom, moving down the bar once again

"Please. Who were you supporting then?" he asked Harry

"You can't support anyone team when you're a sports writer. Makes the articles biased" Harry said finishing off his tea "I'd best get on. Things to do"

"Ah sports journalist eh? Interesting job that must be. See you around" he said

"Have a good day Mr Potter" said Tom

"Cheers Tom" said Harry, walking out of the pub and into the small courtyard behind. He did the tapping the bricks routine, and the gateway to Diagon Alley opened up. It had been a while since Harry had been to Diagon Alley, and he reflected as he walked through it that hardly anything had changed since he had first come here that time with Hagrid.

Knowing Ginny's tastes, Harry was going to go for a plain and simple engagement ring. He knew that she only got embarrassed when given extravagant gifts, so had learnt just to keep things simple. In the past, he had bought her a plain silver chain necklace with an emerald stone. That had been for her eighteenth birthday, and as far as he could tell, she hadn't taken the thing off since he gave it to her. Harry wandered around the shops, looking at books, quills and parchment, and of course, Quality Quidditch Supplies, where there was a poster with his report of the game printed on it, showing the same headline as the newspaper from that morning. He eventually came to the shop that he had only entered twice before, once with Ginny and once without. It was in the shadow of the tall Gringotts Bank. The sign above the door said "Joplin's – Fine Jewellers since 1098". It was one of two Jewellers on Diagon Alley, and the only one so far that Harry had visited.

"Good Morning" said the voice of Mr James Joplin as Harry entered the shop

"Morning" said Harry, looking around at the cases of rings, ear rings, watches and other such trinkets.

"Well now. What can I do for you?" asked Mr Joplin

"I'm looking for an engagement ring" said Harry proudly

"Ah. So. You will be wanting to have a look at this cabinet here" he said, motioning Harry to a glass cabinet that was layered with rings of all kinds. "These are some of our finest rings in this cabinet. We take pride in our wedding and engagement rings"

"I'm looking for a simple ring really. My girlfriend likes less elaborate designs" Harry said, looking at the display with awe at the beauty of some of the rings

"In that case, may I direct you towards this shelf here?" said Mr Joplin, pointing towards the middle shelf of the display cabinet. It had around twenty rings on it, all intricately engraved, with no jewels set in. They were just the kind of thing that Ginny would take to Harry thought to himself

"May I have a closer look at the silver one there with the helix engraving?" asked Harry

"But of course. The ring is Moroccan in origin, and was made in the Souks of Marrakech by my brother. A fine jeweller" said Mr Joplin, waving his wand, and the desired ring came out of the cabinet. The metal was fairly thin, and was slightly less than half a centimetre wide.

"How much would that be?" Harry asked

"Three hundred and twenty-eight galleons" said the shop keeper, taking the ring from Harry and examining it.

"I think I'll take it then" said Harry, suddenly realising what he was doing, and getting a wave of nerves

Harry paid for the ring, and placed it in his pocket. He walked out of the shop and into the warm July air. He apparated away from Diagon Alley and went straight to the Burrow.

"My goodness Harry! You did give me shock!" said Molly Weasley who was preparing sandwiches in the Kitchen

"I'm sorry, Mrs Weasley" he said looking around the kitchen to see Arthur sitting at the kitchen table, reading the paper and chuckling

"For the last time, Harry, its Molly" she said "Now, what can we do for you?"

"I was wondering if I could speak to Mr Weasley in private for a few moments" he said

"You can speak to an Arthur, Harry" said Arthur Weasley, putting the paper down on the table "Shall we go into the living room then?"

"Okay" said Harry, following Arthur into the living room, and shutting the door behind him

"Now then. What would you like to talk to me about?" asked Arthur, motioning Harry to sit in the arm chair opposite

"Well, I've just been into London" said Harry, remaining on his feet "And I bought a little something for Ginny"

"Oh right. Well, what would this be then?" Arthur said, cottoning to what was happening by the look of sheer nervousness on Harry's face

"This" Harry said simply, removing the boxed ring from his pocket, and showing it to Arthur

"My, that's a wonderful ring Harry" said Arthur "But why are you showing me?"

"Well it's an engagement ring. I would like to give it to Ginny" said Harry

"Are you asking me for my daughters hand in marriage?" asked Arthur, starting to smile

"Yes, I believe I am" said Harry calmly

"I wish you the best of luck together" said Arthur, handing the ring back to Harry

"Thank you" said Harry, smiling. Arthur got up and shook Harry's hand.

Arthur sat back down in the living room with a newspaper and began to read. Harry made his way back out into the kitchen. Molly had disappeared into the garden. There was a plate on the table piled with sandwiches and a note saying _'Take as many as you would like, Harry'_.

Harry formulated another plan in his mind. It was now just gone 2 o'clock. _"Well might as well get it all over and done with today"_ he said to himself. He piled some sandwiches into a shoulder bag, and went to find Ginny.


	5. Time to Face the Music

Harry Potter and the Life After the Old

Chapter 4 – Time to Face the Music

Harry found Ginny outside, reading a book under one of the apple trees in the garden of the Burrow.

"Hello" said Harry, sitting down next to her

"Oh hi!" said Ginny, putting her book down "What brings you here?"

"Well, I thought it might be nice if we went for a walk" said Harry

"Yes, that would be a change" said Ginny, getting up "You got something for lunch in that bag then?"

"Yes, sandwiches made by your Mum" he said.

"Well then, lead on" she said, taking his hand.

It was a warm July Sunday. A lot had happened in the last two days. Ginny had returned from her last day at Hogwarts, the Chudley Cannons had won their first match in over one hundred years, and Harry had just decided to ask Ginny to spend the rest of her life with him. They did not yet know about Hermione's newest revelation.

The good thing about living in the countryside was that there were plenty of places to walk in. Harry and Ginny had gone on walks before from the Burrow, and today, they had chosen a walk that they had done once before, because they found a nice view of the valley which hid Ottery St. Catchpole and the small winding river that curled lazily through the valley on this hot summer's day.

"Oh look!" said Ginny, pointing down into the valley, from where they sat eating their sandwiches

"Ah yes" said Harry, following her pointing finger, to see Hedwig flying in large circles around the Burrow "Majestic"

"Beautiful birds, owls." Said Ginny, leaning into Harry. Harry wrapped an arm around her shoulders. They had finished their lunch, and now all Harry needed to do was ask a simple question. They watched Hedwig flying until she eventually flew into the house.

"Gin?" said Harry

"Yes?" Ginny said, adjusting herself so she could see his face

"Will you marry me?" asked Harry, shocking himself with the ease with which he said it. Ginny looked equally surprised, knowing how difficult it was for Harry to say anything out right like that

"Yes" she said again, beginning to smile. The relief on Harry visibly showed as he relaxed his muscles and became a lot less tense "Its unlike you to ask a question like that so easily"

"It is a bit" said Harry, searching around in his pocket "I've got this for you"

Ginny looked at the little black box Harry now held in his hand. He opened it to reveal the ring that he had bought earlier that day. Ginny gasped when she saw it.

"Its beautiful" she said, taking the ring and slipping it on her finger. She stared at it for a few minutes, then looked up at Harry "Thank you!"

They kissed, and then settled back down into the friendly silence, holding each other. The afternoon brought a cool shade over the patch where they were sitting, so remained there until it was time to head back to the house for dinner. They walked happily together, smiles planted on their faces.

Molly Weasley was in the kitchen, preparing some dinner. She saw the two of them coming back to the house. She smiled to herself, and went to find Arthur. They both went out to greet them back to the house

"Well?" said Arthur, with a smile. Ginny put out her hand and showed the ring on her finger "Congratulations to the both of you"

"Congratulations indeed" said Molly, hugging both her daughter and Harry.

"You know what, I just got the strangest feeling I've missed something important" said Ron, bustling around in the kitchen

"The timer wasn't on, on the VCR" said Hermione, coming out of the living room

"Oh…can' remember if I set it for anything anyway" said Ron, putting the tea towel down and walking over to his wife and hugging her

"Work tomorrow" said Hermione, sighing

"You were working just now!" said Ron

"Yes, but its busy work…unlike what you do" said Hermione, with a smirk

"Oi! I take offence at that!" said Ron, looking highly affronted "Who would write the Quidditch Tactics if it weren't for me!"

"Someone who wasn't best friends with the head Sports Correspondent?" said Hermione innocently

"True…but at least I'm doing something" said Ron, using his latest tactic, which was backing down from an argument that was pointless

Hermione smiled, and they both walked into the living room together, and sat down on the sofa.

"Ron, I need to tell you something" said Hermione

"What?" said Ron, looking worried

"You know a few months ago you said it would be really cool to have a kid?" said Hermione, looking uneasy

"Vaguely, why?" said Ron

"We're going to have one" said Hermione

"Wow…" said Ron, looking at Hermione "You mean you're…you know…pregnant?"

"Yes, Ron, that's how it happens" said Hermione, smiling at her husband

"When did you find out about it?" said Ron

"Last week…" said Hermione, looking uneasy again

"Last week! Why didn't you tell me earlier!" said Ron, looking surprised

"I didn't want to take you mind off the match" said Hermione, thinking of excuses. In truth, she could not think of a good way of telling Ron that she was pregnant, so she decided in the end to be blunt.

"Oh ok" said Ron, taking her hand in his "So…how far along?"

"Two weeks" said Hermione "They found it when I went for my medical at the ministry"

"Oh right" said Ron "Well, may this be the first of many"

"As much as I admire your mother, I don't think I could ever do what she has done" said Hermione laughing. Ron smiled, and they kissed.

"I love you, Hermione" said Ron

"Love you too, Ron" she replied.

The sky turned a golden yellow colour behind them as the late afternoon sun drifted into evening. They stayed looking out of the bay window into the garden, watching the birds fly across the garden, and Crookshanks head back towards the house from his daily rounds. Their day ended with Hedwig arriving, carrying news from Harry and Ginny.

Authors Note: Many thanks to the many reviewers, your comments are much appreciated. Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter...I have had large amounts of work to do for College, so had very little spare time. Once again many thanks, and I hope to update once more in the coming week.


	6. How Connections were Made

Harry Potter and the Life after the Old

Chapter 5 – How Connections were Made

The seventh year at Hogwarts had been a hard year for all. Harry, Ron and Hermione had the most important exams that they would face, all the time worrying about when Voldemort would strike next. Harry became unfocused and wished many times that things would just return to normal. On the occasion that Harry was focussed, he spent a lot of time with Ginny, then just a friend. Hermione and Ron were off doing their own thing at the time, occasionally they were doing the opposite of what everyone thought they would be doing. As it later turned out, they were researching spells and curses in the library which they could use in order to try and defend Harry when the time came for the final battle.

Ginny was waiting in the Common Room, looking out of the window. It was an unusually beautiful November evening, the clouds clearing to allow the sun to turn the sky pink for the last few minutes of daylight. Shadows grew longer, and birds flitted around outside the window, trying to find their nests. She looked across the great lake and saw the sun reflecting off the water. The water was still, with a few ripples here and there, where the giant squid had disturbed the surface. She sat transfixed, watching the calm winter evening. Harry came down the stairs from his dormitory. He had red marks down one side of his face, where he had slept on his cloak. He looked slightly dazed. He reached the bottom of the stairs, his shoeless feet making little sound on the stone steps. He looked over towards her, and stared. Her fiery red hair glinted in the evening sun as it began to sink behind the rough crags the glacial landscape. He walked slowly forward, and stood next to her at the window.

"I love times like this" said Ginny, looking out

"Evening is the best time of day for me. Can't stand mornings" said Harry, yawning

"Seems like you can hardly take evenings" said Ginny, smirking at him. Harry smiled back.

"Well you know. Sleep doesn't come easy at the moment. When it does come I try to grab it" said Harry, looking back out across the lake

It was when Harry said that that Ginny realised just how much Harry had learned to control his intense feelings. She remembered back to her fourth year, when Harry had very little command over his anger and upset. She remembered her fifth year, and coaxing Harry out of the little world he'd constructed around himself after Sirius' death. Finally she came to this year. At the end of the last year, Harry spent two days at Privet Drive with his relatives, then spent the rest of the Summer between Grimmauld Place and the Burrow. In that time, he relaxed for the first time, despite the huge threat growing inside the Wizard world. Some families had requested that their children stay in the castle over the summer as it was commonly seen as the safest place on earth to be. She realised to that he had suddenly shown signs of ageing. His hair did not seem to be quite as out of control as it used to be.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Harry said, winking at her

"What?" Ginny said, confused

"It's a muggle thing…don't worry about it. Basically it means, what's on your mind?" Harry explained

"Oh yes. We learned that one in Muggle Studies. Forgetful…" Ginny said

"So, a penny for your thoughts?" said Harry again, smiling this time

"Oh nothing really. The usual. What everyone thinks about" said Ginny

"It's become a popular topic hasn't it. Wonder when he's going to try" said Harry, looking back over towards the mountains

"I'm sure he'll let us know when he attacks" said Ginny "Sorry…" she added quickly, seeing Harry's face turn.

"Its alright. I know its going to come. What with all these spells that are suddenly being inflicted upon me to learn, I'm sure I'll cope" said Harry

"It must be difficult for you. Just know I'm here if you want to talk things through" she replied, looking at him, and touching is arm. To her great surprise, Harry put his other hand up to her hand on his arm and held it there. Their fingers entwined, and their hands dropped down off his shoulder.

Harry was never characteristically one to blurt out his feelings for someone. However, what he did next proved any observer of Harry completely wrong. A moment passed when they were looking into each others eyes. The next moment, Harry pulled Ginny close to him and hugged her. They let go of each other, and stood, holding hands face to face looking into each others eyes. They shared their first kiss together, and bid each other good night. The one witness to the event sat curled up in one of the arm chairs in the common room. Whisper, Ginny's newly acquired tabby cat, mewed at Harry, then bounded up the stairs to meet Ginny.

"You know what?" said Harry, looking up from his divination homework

"What?" said Ron, looking up from a very important book about Quidditch that he was reading instead of doing his Potions essay.

"I reckon I've made an actual prediction here" said Harry

"Really? Lets see…" said Ron, reaching out to look

"It goes 'On the eve of the night of late part of Tuesday 4th March, Hermione will come into the Common Room, you will say something that will lead to an argument, and then you will kiss and make up" said Harry, putting on a mysterious voice

"Sod off" Ron said, looking back at his magazine "Besides, what the hell does 'on the eve of the night of the late part of Tuesday mean?"

"Its emphasising the evening" said Ginny, sitting down at the table "Good prediction, Harry"

"Well naturally you would take his side" said Ron under his breath.

The portrait hole opened to reveal a flustered looking Hermione, dragging her groaning bag behind her

"What's all the rush Hermione? Is there a free book sale in the Library?" said Ron

"For Gods sake Ron! Can I not even come into a room without you insulting me in some way?" Hermione yelled at him "Hi Guys" she said slightly more calmly to Harry and Ginny, who both waved

"The prediction is true so far" said Ginny, picking it up and reading it

"It wasn't an insult! It was a joke! Why can't you ever take a joke?" Ron yelled back, standing up

"I can take a joke…but only when they're funny! Not stupid observations that don't mean anything!" she said back, fuming

"And that's our cue to leave" said Harry, getting up and making his way out of the Common Room

"How long shall we give them?" said Ginny

"I dunno. I'm going to go flying. Care to join me?" he replied

"Yea ok" she said, taking his hand, and walking down to the Quidditch Pitch.

Around three hours later, Ginny and Harry returned to the Common Room, and saw Ron and Hermione curled up together on one of the larger arm chairs

"Your prediction was right, mate" said Ron, as he saw them coming in

"All of it? Even the kiss and make up bit?" said Ginny

"Just about" said Hermione, smiling at them

"You know, I always thought that you two would get together way earlier. Before me and Gin anyway" said Harry, holding his girlfriends hand

"Well your prediction said Tuesday 4th March didn't it?" said Ron

"Guess so. All hail Ron and Hermione. Together through the power of argument" said Harry, bowing

"Shut up Harry" said Hermione, smiling while she said it.

"Is he going to be ok?" someone asked

"He will recover within the week we think" said Dumbledore, herding the crowd of well wishers out of the Hospital Wing "Please let him have some rest. I am in agreement with Madam Pomfrey on this one"

The crowd moved away leaving three people left. Hermione, Ron and Ginny.

"Now I thought that this might happen" said Dumbledore, smiling "Come on in" he said, ushering them in.

They walked forward through the door into the Hospital wing, which was pretty much empty apart from the bed containing Harry. They walked over to the bed and looked over the sleeping body of Harry. Three days ago, he had managed to rid the Wizarding world of its greatest enemy. Apart from a short amount of time after he had returned, he had been unconscious for the whole of three days, and had been visited everyday by Ginny. This was the first time that Ron and Hermione had come up to the hospital wing, as they had been at St Mungo's Hospital in London with Hermione's parents, who had been attacked during the final battle.

Ron looked bravely on, while Hermione tried to disguise her tears in a series of coughs. Ginny sat on the edge of the bed and ran a hand through his hair.

"He's been asleep since he came back. The last thing he said before he collapsed was 'Tell Ron and Hermione that I'm fine', then he collapsed" said Ginny, retelling the story to them. Hermione took a sharp intake of breath, and looked towards the window.

"Its alright, Hermione" said Ron, putting an arm around her. She settled her head on his shoulder, and looked over at Harry

"He's always had this unbelievable knack of being able to survive impossible situations" said Hermione, smiling slightly

"Amazing isn't it?" said a new, croaking voice, that sounded very drowsy

"HARRY!" screamed Ginny, jumping up off the bed in surprise

"Nice to have you back, mate" said Ron, smiling

"You could have told us earlier" said Hermione, slightly taken aback

"I was waiting for the opportune moment. You provided it for me, and I thank you" said Harry, smiling at Hermione's 'I'm cross but happy at the same time' face.

"You really do have that knack don't you?" said Ginny, settling back down on the edge of the bed

"Well he needs to have it doesn't he?" said Ron

"Right all of you. Away, I need to do a check up" said Madam Pomfrey, cottoning on to the fact that Harry had awoken

"See you later Harry" said Ron and Hermione almost in unison, then blushing as they did it. They got up and left, leaving Harry and Ginny alone. Madam Pomfrey moved to the other end of the Hospital Wing to gather some medicines.

"I've missed you, Harry" said Ginny, kissing him on the cheek

"I've missed you too, Gin" he replied, smiling at her, and taking her hand

"Have fun with Madam Pomfrey anyway" said Ginny, getting up to leave, with a sparkle in her eye

"Can't wait" Harry said, watching Ginny walk out of the wing


	7. Rewind

Harry Potter and the Life after the Old

Chapter 6 – Rewind

Authors Note: The end of this chapter contains description of battle, with scenes of violence.

It seemed strange for Harry to wake up with someone next to him. It had only happened twice before, and on both occasions it had been Ron, while they were on their 3 day and 2 night camping holiday in Wales shortly after they left Hogwarts. It had been Ron's idea. He suggested it because he wanted to ask Harry's opinion on the ring that he had bought for Hermione, and also so that he could be sure that he was about to ask the right question. Harry turned over and opened his eyes slowly to see Ginny lying next to him, still sleeping peacefully. They had been engaged for three months now, and Ginny had gradually been gradually moving her things from the Burrow into Harry's flat.

The day was Wednesday. A work day for Harry and a looking for work day for Ginny. It was October, and even though the Quidditch season was yet to start, there were training sessions to report on, and the new upcoming England line up, and, of course predictions for the up coming season. Strangely, off season work for a Quidditch reporter was just as busy, if not even more busy than in the season. Since Harry only had to work on the main games, he spent most of his time reviewing articles from his other correspondents and acting as editor. Today, Harry was off to talk to the Chudley Cannons, who had begun their training regime almost as soon as the season finished after their spectacular win in the finals.

Ginny on the other hand was being indecisive. She still had no idea what she wanted to do with her life, so had spent much of the past three months looking around for small jobs in London. She had so far managed to get a job working as a secretary at the Ministry of Magic, and was becoming more interested in the world of magical law. Magical Law is much like muggle law. Ginny would train up as a lawyer and represent her clients in her specialised field. She had almost decided that Law was what she wanted to do, but where to be trained in the law was becoming a problem. There were two magical law schools in England, one on Diagon Alley, and one hidden in the depths of Snowdonia in Wales. Both had very good reputations. The London School of Magical Law specialised in International Wizarding Law, and Financial Law. The Cador Magical Law School in Wales specialised in criminal law and cases to do with magical law enforcement. International law would suite Harry's carrier, as he would shortly be required to travel frequently to Canada for the next Quidditch World Cup. In the short term, however, Ginny was happy with the work that she was doing, as she was helping a lot with the Office of Muggle Affairs, in which both Hermione and her father worked.

Harry lifted himself out of bed. It was 8.00, and time that he was getting ready for his day in Chudley with the Cannons. He headed straight for the shower, after which he went back into the bedroom in order to dress. Ginny had not yet stirred.

"Gin?" Harry whispered, shaking her "Wake up…Its 8.15"

"Already?" she said drearily, opening first one eye, then the other "Not fair"

Ginny had never been one for waking up. She took after Ron in this respect, who was notorious for being ridiculously short tempered with the fact that time went so quickly in the night. It was Ron's opinion that time was working against him in order to prevent him from sleeping. Ginny shared this opinion, though in a more joking fashion. Ron was deadly serious.

"Its time" said Harry, moving off into the kitchen and started rummaging through cupboards to find his specially large coffee cup. Ginny wondered in and hugged him from behind.

"What's on the agenda for today then?" she said, letting him go and wondering back into the bedroom.

"Off to Chudley to see the Cannons today. Meeting Ron there. He's going to interview Verelda Snork about the teams tactics for this season, coffee?" he asked

"Ok, yes in a minute" Ginny replied, heading for the bathroom.

Harry set about preparing a quick breakfast, whilst reading the _Daily Prophet_ for the latest headlines. News had been slow recently, except for the proposed changes to the Ministry of Magic's electoral system. New plans for the Minister of Magic to be elected from a majority of public votes were being vigorously fought in the Ministry. The previous system, based on a candidates strengths to be leader and voted in by a majority of votes from members of the new Wizengamot, which itself had been recently re-elected after the discovery that it had been overwhelmingly dominated by those loyal to Voldemort. The reforms were being rubbished as being "Too Muggle". The Office of Muggle Affairs was researching the muggle electoral systems to see if anything could be learned. This move was proving unpopular. Ginny emerged from the bedroom, showered and dressed. Harry plonked a cup of coffee in front of her, and set about finding cereal. They ate their breakfast in silence, occasionally commenting on an article in the newspaper, which was spread out before them.

"Well, I'd best be off. See you later, love" said Harry, standing up and clearing his things away with the flick of his wand.

"Ok. When will you be back?" Ginny asked, standing up and taking her fiancés hand.

"Probably around 4 o'clock. Shouldn't be too long there, Ron is going to be doing most of the work. I just need enough to build up a new Team Profile for the Cannons" he replied, kissing her "Love you lots"

"Love you too" she replied, watching him disappear from her site.

Ginny gathered together her bag, and coat, and apparated away to London, and the Ministry of Magic.

It was business as usual in the Weasley Household. Hermione kissed her husband good-bye, while he cleared up the kitchen. Hermione Weasley was three months pregnant, and already Ron was panicking. Hermione was staying remarkably calm, despite her tendency to be easily flustered by something. She was carrying on her work at the Ministry, and had been assigned a job working in the Muggle Parliament to research the British Muggle Electoral System. She had been cleared by the Muggle Prime Minister, who had given Hermione permission to work there under the disguise as a Muggle university researcher.

Ron was still busy with the tactics column at the _Daily Prophet_, although at this time of year, when the season was still far off, was reporting on new strategies, or commenting on the merits of old ones. Despite his popularity as a writer, Ron was also considering a career change. He wanted to try and enlist as an Auror. His skills of logic and a cool mind in tight situations had proved him to be a valuable asset to the effort against Voldemort. He had been scouted by the Auror's and had been told then that when he felt ready, he would be welcome to enlist.

Two hours later he and Harry were standing on the training grounds in Chudley. They were watching the orange robed players speeding back and forth during their training session.

"Looks like they've got the chasers working on that one/two move that we saw in the match" said Ron, noting this down with his quick quotes quill

"Hmmm, though it does look like Snork is training them rather like she was the Falcons…" said Harry, watching a series of fast, violent moves, that if seen in play may be conceded as fouls

"They need someone up there to give them a kick though. I don't know what they were doing before Snork, because they're pretty much all of the same players on the team, all that's changed is the Captain and Coach" Ron replied, looking at the Keeper, who was practicing against the Chasers

"True…though with moves like that, they could cause problems with the World Quidditch League" Harry commented, watching the Beaters

"Lucky the National League comes first. I think they're against Puddlemere for their first National League game" Ron said, putting his quill away

"Yea I guess" said Harry, walking up to the players in practice.

"Hello?" he said. The players all landed, and shook hands with Harry and Ron

"Just been doing some observations, there's some good play coming through there. What are your hopes for the coming season?" asked Harry, pulling out a scroll of parchment. Verelda had been elected spokesperson for the team.

"For the National League we hope to get to the semis, but we would all be delighted if we made the final again. We're training hard, so hopefully we can get there. For the World Cup, again we hope to get to the semis, though we know that the opposition is a lot tougher there" she said, the players nodding in agreement

"Just a question about your tactics for this season. Are you going to be using a similar style of play as you did against the Falcons? Or are you trying out new things?" Ron asked

"Similar tactics I think. We're building on what the players already know. Although there's plenty of time before the matches, we still feel that if we consolidate the moves that we already know, we can get a lot further than scratching together new ones. Obviously the formations will change a bit, but you'll have to wait and see at the matches to see those" said Verelda, with a small chuckle from the rest of the team.

"And just one last thing, about this new wave of support from fans. Is this a surprise to you?" asked Harry, looking at Ron, who smiled

"Yes it was. Pleasantly so. We never expected to do so well against the Falcons. The match only really came about because Galvin made a bet with his wife that the Cannons would re-enter league Quidditch before the end of 2002. And they've done it" said Verelda

"Mrs Snork, The Chudley Cannons, thank you for letting us talk to you. Later on, a photographer will come round to take some team photos to accompany the article" said Harry, who shook the hands of the team members, then Ron followed suit.

They left the ground and arrived back in London just in time for lunch. They went to the Leaky Cauldron.

"So, have you got any further with thinking about the Auror thing?" said Harry

"I'm not so sure now that Hermione's pregnant. It probably wouldn't be a good idea, what with the training. I'd have to be away from home during the week for four months, only home at the weekends" Ron said, picking his way through the beef casserole

"True. I don't know how far Ginny's got with deciding what she wants to do. She seems to be torn between Law Schools at the moment. Can't decide whether to do Commercial law or Criminal Law" said Harry, knowing that the magical terms were different, but was testing Ron's knowledge of all things Muggle

"Personally I don't see what the attraction is to law. You know, I don't see why you didn't train to become an Auror. Don't you miss the action?" said Ron

"Yes sometimes. I just wanted to do something a bit more peaceful for a while. The war took a lot out of me, physically and emotionally. When I'm ready I'm thinking of signing up, but in the meantime, I'm enjoying the work I'm doing" replied Harry. Ron nodded, and they carried on with their lunch in silence.

It had become a kind of unwritten rule in magical circles not to mention the war unless absolutely necessary. This was mainly because of the bad memories that many people associated with it, and did not want to be reminded of it. For Harry, it was much the same. He was in the centre of it, and his last years at Hogwarts were a turbulent few, in which he lost his Godfather and other close friends. Although he didn't show it, the scars of battle were still locked away behind the friendly exterior. In many ways, it was not necessary for people to talk about the war, especially Harry and his nearest and dearest. They could tell when it was getting him down, and had learned through time to give him the space he needed to try and get through it. If he needed to talk about it, he would. Ginny helped Harry through many of these times, by simply holding him in her arms and simply being there with him.

The sounds of battle were drawing ever closer to the school. Marching could be heard. Look out of the windows, and the once peaceful view seen over the lake was ablaze with the colours of curses and spells flying back and forth. Overhead on broomsticks, another battle was raging, with curse colours lighting up the early evening sky.

"Its time, Harry" said Ginny, looking at him with frightened eyes "Be safe. I love you"

"I love you too Ginny. Please try to stay out of trouble" he said. They kissed, and he kicked off into the air. Surrounding him were Hermione and Ron, who also rode brooms.

They flew in an arrow formation, Harry in the lead, and with wands out, divided into the fray, yelling stunning curses and disarming curses in all directions. The defence shields that Ginny had built around them were holding up for the more weak spells, but they could feel the occasional burst of pain when a more powerful spell managed to partially break through. They flew in all directions. There were no clear sides that the two opposing armies were keeping to. The only thing to distinguish friend from foe was the colour of the robes (black for the Deatheaters, and blue for the Aurors) and the fact that Deatheaters wore hoods and masks. Voldemort spotted somewhere near the centre of the battle, fighting off a group of Aurors, with the help of several Deatheaters by his side. He spotted the broomsticks and called off the fight from the Deatheaters. The Aurors also stopped fighting, as they saw who was approaching.

"Lord Voldemort" said Harry "I challenge you to a duel of swords"

"You challenge me?" Voldemort said incredulously "Hah! You stand not a chance Mr Potter"

So it began. Harry landed his broom and handed it to a nearby Auror. He drew the sword of Godric Gryffindor, and positioned himself into the starting position for a sword duel. Voldemort simply sneered at Harry and chuckled. He drew his own sword, a black metal blade, with a deep red hilt, with rubies and emeralds glistening.

"Ready when you are" Voldemort said with a mock curtsy, to which his Deatheaters cackled

Harry ran at Voldemort sword held to his side. He did a flying kick at the man, and had recovered before the Dark Lord had realised what had happened. In a flash, the blades of the two swords were chinking against each other, each successive blow from the other being blocked. The watching Deatheaters and Aurors made a circle around the fight, and watched as the two of the most powerful Wizards of the age danced around it, fighting without the aid of Magic. This had been proved impossible, as the wands owned by Voldemort and Harry were brother wands, a different way of fighting had to be found. Although sword fighting had not been specifically agreed upon, it seemed the most obvious choice. Thus, both men had trained long and hard for the fight. Harry never seemed to loose energy, despite the sneering comments that occasionally came from Voldemort's mouth. All too soon however, Harry had a cut on his arm and Voldemort one on his stomach. They sparred for another hour almost before both men began to show signs of tiring. After one careless move, Voldemort managed to stab Harry through his side. This weakened him greatly, though as luck would have it, it missed any vital organs. In a truly arrogant way, Voldemort walked around Harry while he lay on the ground in pain, taunting him, saying how the duel was his. It was the second time that Voldemort mentioned how the Potter's had once again turned out to be a failure that Harry summoned the strength to jump to his feet, wield the sword around his head and drive it through Voldemort's heart. At that moment, all of the Deatheaters simultaneously disappeared from the scene, as Voldemort fell to the ground. A bright light suddenly surrounded the pair, and a wind blew through the trees. When it had cleared, the body of the young Tom Riddle lay dead on the ground. With pure exhaustion, Harry fell to the ground, and he knew no more.


	8. A Celebration

Harry Potter and the Life After the Old

Chapter 7 – My Big Day

The dreams of a young girl very rarely come true. At least, that's my view on the matter. The dreams of meeting the tall, dark and handsome man, marrying him, and having children and a comfortable life never seem to come true. The dreams of becoming a rock star never happen either, although that has never been one of my ambitions. To marry on particular tall, not so dark, and handsome man has always been my dream. And since July when said pre-described man asked me to marry him, I realised that for me, my dream had come true. All those moments in front of the mirror, imagining him standing behind me, or those little fantasy lives in my head in which we would go on long walks together, and talk of marriage and children. The former we have talked about, however the latter has not even been mentioned by Harry. I think he is waiting to see how Ron and Hermione's baby turns out first. Or maybe Harry just does not want to talk about such things just yet.

As I sit here in a small anti-chamber in a church in Ottery St. Catchpole, I had the feeling that I've been told all brides get in their final moments of being single. All of a sudden, all my doubts about Harry's niggling little habits came back, and a wave of panic struck over me. I am about to commit my life, and many other things to the man I have always loved. I am about to change my life forever. I am about to almost start my life anew, with a new person, and a new set of circumstances, not to mention a small cottage in Ottery St. Catchpole which Harry had bought for the occasion of our marriage. It is around 15 minutes walk from the Burrow, down an equally long, dusty drive. Harry has sold his city centre flat in Birmingham, and had moved all of his things in. I have not seen the cottage yet, though I have a vague memory of seeing it once, while out walking. If he has bought the one I am thinking of, it is a pale stone built house, with two stories and a thatched roof. And I seem to remember a very scary Alsatian was in residence when I came across it. Well, no doubt the Alsatian has moved on with the houses previous owner. Well, at least I hope it has. And here I go again: the niggling little doubts about Harry's judgement in choosing a family cottage in which to live. Hermione told me that she and Ron had helped him to look for a smallish country cottage, and they had all settled on this particular on in the village.

Hermione now entered the room, and walked over towards me.

"Time to do the hair" she said. I turned around, the white wedding gown rustling as I stood.

"Just keep it simple, Hermione. Harry's favourite is to just have my hair down" I said, thinking of my hair, which now stretches down to my mid-back.

"What about a braided pony-tail? I've got better at doing those now" said Hermione. She has been trying to get me to change my mind about my hair style for ages.

"No, Hermione. This day isn't about being in fashion. It's about confirming my love for the man of my dreams, and if the man of my dreams likes it best when my, and I quote 'fiery red hair is cascading down my shoulders'" I said, remembering the time shortly after they had become engaged. We were in his kitchen, and had just finished a surprisingly nice dinner that he had made for us. We had finished the washing up, and the two wine glasses had just been put back into his cupboard. He took me in his arms, and we kissed. He pulled back and said to me the words I mentioned just now to Hermione. Since then, I've let my hair grow.

"As you wish. Sit straight, and I'll brush it for you" said Hermione, nudging my back, and grabbing a hair brush.

"You're not using a spell?" I said, surprised.

"Not on your life. I'm not using a spell or anything magic to do anything to your hair. Just a good old-fashioned muggle hairbrush" she said, gathering my hair, ready to brush it.

"I remember brushing your hair before your wedding" I said to her "Wonderful head of hair you've got. You must be a hair stylists dream"

"Yours is wonderful too, Ginny. Its soft, smooth, and silky. And of course it's Weasley red" she said to me, working the brush through my hair. I smiled. Harry says the same things about my hair.

Eventually, she finished brushing, and it was time for the veil. I stood in front of a full length mirror, and I just had to admire myself. The wedding dress had been chosen by me, from Madam Malkins, at Harry's expense. He had insisted that I got the dress that I wanted, no matter what it cost. I had chosen, and I do not regret my choice. I lost myself in my own thoughts of what life was going to be like after today, until my father appeared at the door.

"Well, Ginny. Are you ready? We're ready for you now" he said, holding out a hand. I smiled.

"Yes, I am" I replied, casting all doubt aside. This was my day, and I am damned if I'm going to let my brain spoil it for me.

oOo

The first thing that hit me when I woke up this morning was 'Where's Ginny?' Then I realised that Hermione had kidnapped her for the day, due to some muggle tradition where one is not allowed to see the woman of one's dreams until the time that they are to be married. I spent the night with Ron anyway. He came over to spend the last night in what he called my "Bachelor Pad". He has been watching far too much television. That aside, we had a great evening of reminiscing and drinking beer. Not too much though, because Ron thought it best that I was not hung over on my wedding day. Which is a very sensible thought, considering Ron's normal thought processes, which normally include: food, Quidditch and food. I say food twice because Ron has a phenomenal appetite. Oh and Hermione.

I am standing in my flat at the moment. Its five minutes to one, the appointed time. I have made sure that my hair is tied as properly as it can be, and my glasses are clean. I have a freshly ironed white shirt hung over the back of a chair next to me, and a tie. My black suit jacket is on a hanger. In typical style, I'm leaving things until the last minute. Quite literally the last minute. It has always been that way with Ron and I. I remember he was almost late for his wedding. He spent too long in the shower trying to wash out his hang over. By a stroke of good fortune, he managed to pull himself together, dress in record speed, and apparated away from my flat with a minute to spare, in order to take his place at the altar.

It is a funny feeling this whole marriage thing. I feel like my life is becoming in some way normal. That is a wish I have had for a long, long time. I remember saying it to Dumbledore during my sixth year, and I remember repeating it in my head. When Voldemort died, there was no chance of having a normal life, because I became "The-boy-who-did-in-the-bad-guy". I suppose I did not help myself by placing myself in the lime light by becoming a sports reporter, but in a way, I get the feeling that helped. People saw me a lot, and read about what I was doing. It was this that I think managed to get people to forget about what I had done to Voldemort, and soon enough people stopped bugging me about it. I feel relieved now, that I can lead a life that is private, that I do not have people buzzing around outside all the time, trying to find out where I am. This is partly why I have made both of my houses unplottable. Though now I'm selling my flat, I'll have to reveal it to the world so that someone can buy it. Hermione managed to adapt the spell slightly so it was visible to muggles only. This was mainly because it was in a muggle block of flats, and I do not want to even imagine what would happen if a landlord reported that one of the flats in his building has simply disappeared from view, the door replaced by a wall with a fire hose on it. I'm rambling, even in my head. I feel that today is a day where my normal life can be confirmed. There is only one reporter there, and standard for any Wizarding wedding. Each wedding gets a mention in the Daily Prophet. There is no Rita Skeeter, or anyone like her, because people have finally lost interest in "The-boy-who-lived" or "The Chosen One" or which ever your favourite title happens to be. It was at this moment that Ron appeared from the kitchen, also dressed in a suite.

"Well, well, Harry. Your big day" he said, smirking.

"Soon to be yours as well. How many weeks to go now?" I asked him, referring to his and Hermione's baby.

"She's due in a months time" he said "Yes it's a she"

"You kept that quiet" I said, adjusting my tie "What time is it?"

"Time we left I think" said Ron, looking at his watch "Don't want to be late…"

I nodded at him, and turned away from the mirror. I put on the suit jacket, and straightened the folds. I extracted my wand from my sleeve, and apparated to the church. I had to apparate to a special location just outside the church. Because it was a muggle church, and the vicar was a muggle, we had to apparate to locations just outside the church. Ron and I walked inside, and I led the way up the aisle to stand by the vicar. Ron took his place slightly to my right, and gave me the all important ring.

"Good luck, mate" he whispered as he handed it over, patting my shoulder.

"Thanks" I whispered back, and popped the ring into my pocket. I turned around, just as the organ started playing a rousing tune by a muggle composer that Hermione had chosen. There she was. Ginny. Her hair cascading past her shoulders, and looking, dare I say it, heavenly. She stood at the opposite end of the aisle with her father. Mr Weasley lead the way down the aisle. Ginny came and stood opposite me. We smiled, both quite unable to believe that it was actually happening. We waited for the organ piece to finish, and when it did, the vicar stepped forward.

oOo

There he goes. My best friend. I wonder what he was thinking when I got married. Probably much the same. It's strange though, this wedding for me. Because it's the marriage of my best friend to my sister. From the beginnings, I remember the shock of seeing him just walking into the common room, my sister running to him, and them just kissing. There and then. Right there. That was what shocked me most. I know Harry is not one for publicity, but he went and landed himself right in it there. But then again, people do strange things when they are in love. Look at me, for example. I've become, dare I say it, sensible. My wonderful wife is expecting our first daughter. And we still cannot decide what to call her. Hermione likes the name Alice, and I think that's decided. Also Camilla. But that's a debate for another day. Right now, there are more important things going on, the marriage of my best friend to my sister to name one.

I am currently standing just to the right of Harry, slightly behind him, watching my sister and my dad walking up the aisle together. It is strange to see my sister being given away. My older brothers are not married yet, Charlie does not seem to be attached, Fred and George, although attached are showing no signs of marriage, Percy, naturally has married, as has Bill. It's the children in the middle who are resisting Mum's pleas. I never thought that I would be married even before Percy. I had an idea that I might have been before Fred and George, though. And Ginny. I knew that she lost heart during her mid teens, and thought she was going to spend the rest of her life living at the top of a tower, crying. Then she got over the crush and she was fine. Then Harry kissed her, and it all went from there.

I say good luck to my friend and my sister, and to my friend, it's about bloody time.

oOo

I've known Harry right from the beginning of his time at Hogwarts, and although he's not the sort to have heartfelt chats, I know a lot about his personality. Probably more than he would like. He has always been very sheltered. That is why I am so pleased that he has managed to find someone so pretty, so level headed, and above all, so trusting. Ginny Weasley is an amazing woman, and pretty to top that. She asked me to help her dress, and borrowed the silver bracelet I wore to my own wedding. That was her something borrowed. Her something old is a necklace that she has had since she was six. A simple silver chain with a small diamond pendant. She said that it had been passed on to her when a relative had died, and a spell had been put on it to lengthen the chain as she grew older. I'm not sure about the something blue, but I think it's from her mother. If it is around, I've not seen it.

I followed Ginny and Mr Weasley out of the small ante-chamber, went and stood by the door. At the opposite end of the church, by the altar, I saw my husband and Harry exchanging a quick pre-marriage word. They had done the same at ours. Harry had leaned forward, whispered something in Ron's ear, and patted him on the shoulder, then Ron grinned at me, all be it rather sheepishly. To this day, I have no idea what they said to each other. The same thing happened today, only this time it was Ron whispering into Harry's ear, and Ron patting Harry's shoulder. Doubtless we will never find out what was said then either. Maybe it is just something men do before committing their lives to some one. The last goodbye to the world of the free has Ron once referred to it.

Harry looked down the aisle to watch his soon to be wife being led by her father. The organ piece I had helped them choose was played, excellently I might add by the Churches organist. I do not know if Ron is getting a similar strange feeling to me. The fact that I am watching my all time best girl friend, and my all time best boy friend getting married to each other made me smile, and think just how much things have changed over the last few years. It's now only a year after the defeat of Voldemort, and Harry has re-opened his life to love, and married his girl. I know that there has been a sort of silent agreement in the Wizarding world not to mention the last war, but I know for a fact that Harry still thinks about it, and from what Ginny has said, he opens up to her. It is this fact that shows just how much Harry has grown up over the last 3 years. He would never talk to anyone about anything 3 years ago. But he has found trust in Ginny, and they talk things through, and ultimately, that is what will keep them together. The fact that they love each other. Simple.

oOo

The church was only small, and all of the forty guests that had been invited sat comfortably in the pews. Those present included the entire Weasley family, including the various assorted girlfriends and wives, friends from Hogwarts, and a couple of teachers. A large man at the back of the church dominated the proceedings for a while after a heartfelt emotional outburst. Hagrid sat next to Headmistress McGonagall. The Professor had fought hard to keep the school open after the sixth year, and even though it was open, neither Ron, Hermione or Harry were in attendance for the entire year, except one brief stint during the Christmas holiday's when they came looking for clues about the Horcruxes.

Honorary invitations went out to Dumbledore and Sirius, who Harry hoped would be there in spirit. He and Ginny had written the invitations, and then cast them to the sky with a levitation charm that would keep them rising until either they left Earth altogether or they disintegrated. The mood had been sombre for the rest of that evening, and Ginny and Harry had sat for the rest of the evening in each others arms, letting their memories of the two lost men wash over them, glad that they had each other for comfort in such moments.

Remus Lupin was there, who sat alongside Bill. Since the incident in the sixth year which left Bill so horribly scarred, he and Remus had become friends, Bill turning to Remus for advice about how to control the occasional urges he feels from his wolf side. Next to Bill sat Fleur, his wife of 2 years. Other guests included Harry's dormitory mates, as well as Ginny's, and a few friends from the _Daily Prophet_, as well as Hermione's parents.

The proceedings were drawing to a close, and Harry and Ginny were repeating the wedding vows, as read by the vicar. He finished, and looked between the two of them.

"By the power vested in me by the Lord, our God, I know pronounce you Man and Wife" he said, closing his Bible "You may kiss the bride"

Ginny looked up into Harry's eyes, and smiled a wide smile. Harry, too, smiled, and lifted the veil. They shared a small kiss, and then turned to the congregation who were applauding them. The organ struck up once again with a lively Sortie, and they left the church.

Outside, they stood for photographs, and a small social. After which, Harry and Ginny were driven away in a car to their new home in the village.

Authors Note:

If you were wondering, the two pieces I was thinking of were:

Symphony No. 5 in F Minor (Toccata) by Charles-Marie Widor for the beginning of the ceremony. Can be found on the iTunes music store.

Sortie in E Flat by Louis Alfred James Lefébure-Wély for the end of the ceremony.


	9. Arrival

Harry Potter and the Life After the Old

Chapter 8 – Arrival

"Harry?" Ginny said sleepily from her side of the bed.

"Yes, dear?" said Harry, equally sleepily from his side.

"Why the hell is the phone ringing?" she said in an innocent tone.

"That's what woke me up…if this is Ron up to his tricks again…" said Harry, swinging his legs over the side of the bed "3.30! What time does he call this in the morning?"

Harry struggled over to the still ringing phone, and answered it with a groggy "Hello?"

"Harry, you have to come. Quick. As in now" said Ron's voice, full of panic.

"What's wrong, Ron?" Harry said, getting worried.

"It's Hermione…she's gone into labour" Ron almost yelled back.

"Ok, let me get Ginny. She'll be able to help" said Harry, starting to panic as well.

"Get over here as soon as possible…we have to try and get her to hospital" Ron said "I have to go, she's calling me. Quickly now"

Click. The phone died, and Harry leapt into action. He ran back to the bedroom in the Potter's new cottage in Ottery St. Catchpole and went to shake Ginny awake again.

"What is it, Harry?" she moaned, rolling over to face him.

"It's Hermione…she's going into labour. Ron wants us to go round there pronto" Harry said, flinging out some clothes and changing as quickly as he could. Unfortunately, he ended up tripping over his trousers as he pulled them on, in his haste to try and find his glasses at the same time. He landed on top of Ginny, who had just risen out of the lying position.

"Oof" they both said together as they fell back on to the bed.

"Careful now, Harry. I thought we were dealing with Hermione's baby now" said Ginny slyly. Harry blushed, kissed her quickly on the cheek and whispered an apology, before rising off the bed.

"We are. Want something to eat?" he asked, finally pulling on the troublesome trousers.

"No, its ok. I'll grab something at Ron's" she said, leaping out of bed and dressing at breakneck speed, managing with more success than Harry.

"Why is it that women take so long in the bathroom, but when under pressure you can change in a perfectly reasonable time?" said Harry, noticing how quickly his wife dressed.

"We have to keep you boys waiting, only, this crisis is involving Hermione, so lets go! Move, move, move!" Ginny said, prodding him in the general direction of the fireplace.

"You'd better go first, Ginny. I'll see you there" Harry said, giving Ginny a kiss before she flooed to Ron's house. Harry looked around the house to check everything was still locked. Satisfied, he pulled out some green powder from the pot beside the fireplace, and said "34 Kenilworth Avenue" and was gone.

Silence settled over the small cottage once again, and only a light wind disturbed the trees that grew around the outside. In the background could be heard the crunching of leaves, and the snapping of a twig. A shadow of a man in full robes silhouetted itself against the wall of the living room. The man made his way around the house, stopping outside the back door. He tried to open it; it was locked. He tried a simple unlocking spell on the door, and still it did not move. The man backed slowly away from the door, and continued to walk around the house. Eventually determining that he was not going to get in with out a struggle, he took out the note that he had been given. Attaching it to a rock, with magical binding spell, he threw the rock through the front window of the house. A dark red light flashed, and the rock, and its attached note disappeared from view. Not quite sure whether it had been delivered, the man pulled out his wand once again. He whispered a spell under his breath, and there was a flash of green, and a ghostly green began to glow from the sky.

"Vengeance is ours, My Lord" the man whispered, looking up at the symbol that had not been seen for four years. The Dark Mark.

oOo

The night silence of Warwick was broken by the sound of siren, heading towards a residential area of the town. The sirens stopped, and the ambulance continued, blue lights still flashing. The ambulance slowed as it came towards the next junction, and turned down a small road called Kenilworth Avenue. They pulled up outside number 34 and walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. It was answered by a very tall, broad red-headed male who looked as panicked as ever.

"Hello, my name is Perry Dorian, Paramedic. This is Becky Wood, also a paramedic, but a specialist in maternity and such things" said the taller man, gesturing a woman beside him, who was also a red head.

"Right, right, come in. I'm Ron Weasley, by the way. My wife is Hermione" said Ron, opening the door to allow them in.

'_Damn'_ Ron thought _'Harry and Ginny are going to appear in the fireplace any second.'_

Sure enough, the two Paramedics received the shocks of their lives, as two people exited the fireplace. Ron knew this had happened from the surprised yell of the male paramedic. Ron sighed, and entered the living room. Had the circumstances been different, he would have laughed. The site that met his eyes were the female paramedic talking to Hermione, apparently ignoring what had just happened, and the male paramedic looking at Harry and Ginny with undisguised shock.

"What just happened?" asked Perry.

"Oh, sorry" said Ginny, looking embarrassed. She pulled out her wand, and performed a simple memory charm on him. Harry stepped forward to do the same to Becky, but she held up her hand.

"Don't bother, I know how the Floo system works. You've no idea how often people try and do that to me" said Becky, who stood back and pulled a wand out that was concealed up her sleeve.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realise…" said Ginny, putting her own wand back.

"I didn't expect you to. I'm working for the Ministry. When wizards call out the Muggle ambulances, I somehow get on the ambulance roster every time. Strange that." Becky said with a wink.

"What do you want to do then?" said Ron, taking his wife's hand.

"How about a hospital!" said Hermione breathing heavily.

"Good plan, good plan, one small flaw. In your state, you'll never be able to Apparate, and a Portkey is just out of the question. It's going to have to be a home birth I'm afraid." Said Becky, conjuring more cushions, and a cooling charm on Hermione.

"We'll just go and wait in the next room" said Ginny, tugging on Harry's hand, pulling him out of the room.

"But…" said Ron.

"Ron Weasley, you can cope with out Harry this once" said Hermione, looking a lot more calm.

Ron looked resigned, and returned Harry's thumbs up with a look of pure terror.

oOo

A crowd of people surrounded the house in the small village, wondering what on earth the strange green glow was that was emanating from the woods. A few recognised the green glow, and with dread, broke into a run towards the copse.

"Not good…" said one peculiarly dressed man to a woman with very strange looking hair.

"Not seen this for a long time, shame these Muggles have caught on"

"It's not a problem for now. It depends on the nature of the situation"

"The Potters…"

"Should be out, but its coming from the direction of their house"

"How do you know?"

"Remember Ron? He and Hermione are having their baby tonight"

"Aww cute!"

"Not the time, Tonks. Not the time."

The two rounded a corner on the path that they were jogging down, and stopped dead in their tracks: above the small white painted cottage hung the sickly green sight of the serpent and skull. The crowd following them caught up and slowed, and there was a collective gasp from around them.

Remus Lupin turned around to face the crowd.

"My name is Sergeant Lupin, and I am a police officer. Can we please disperse the crowd" he said calmly, flashing an identity card for the Muggle police, now a standard issue for all Aurors in case of dealing with Muggle situations.

"My colleague and I will handle the situation, I assure you that you will be informed shortly of what has happened."

Both Lupin and Tonks now were facing the crowd, who seemed unwilling to move. Eventually, the crowd gradually dispersed, leaving one figure left. He nodded to both Aurors, then Apparated into the night.

"Who do you think that was?" asked Tonks, now turning back towards the house, and cancelling the Dark Mark that floated in the sky above it.

"Only one person I know of that build. Tall and skinny? Who else?" said Lupin, magically sealing off the area.

"Why would he stick around, and then just nod at us?" asked Tonks, putting an anti-Apparition ward around the house.

"That's anybodies guess. Now, we need to let them know" said Remus, turning towards Tonks.

"We can't do that! Not on a day like this"

"What choice do we have? To be honest, they would be more annoyed if they weren't told straight away."

"How do we tell them, then?"

"We'll have to go straight to their house…do you know where it is?"

"Yes, on three?"

"Ready. One…Two…Three!"

There were two simultaneous pops, and the garden of the cottage fell silent once again. Only a light wind disturbed the tree tops, rustling the leaves.

oOo

The sounds that greeted Ginny when she opened the door into Ron and Hermione's living room was the sound of her brother laughing, and great breaths of relief from a very tired looking Hermione. Beside Hermione stood the Healer, Becky Wood, who was holding a very small bundle, wrapped in white cloths. She handed the bundle to Hermione, who took it, and looked tearful.

"Well, Ron. Shall we introduce her to Harry and your sister?" asked Hermione, beaming at Ginny.

"Drum roll, please" said Harry, smirking.

"May I introduce to you, the Right Honourable Isabelle Miranda Weasley. Named after my grandmother, and Hermione's mothers second name" said Ron.

"Congratulations to the both of you" said Becky, who stood back and packed up her bags. It's time I was going, things need to be done. I come back next week to give Isabelle a check up. In the mean time, the spell should prevent anything too drastic happening!"

"Thank you ever so much, for your help" said Hermione, making to get up.

"No, Hermione, I'll show her out" said Ron, patting Hermione's shoulder.

"This way" said Ron.

They both walked to the front door, and opened it to find Remus Lupin and Tonks standing there, Lupin with his arm raised, ready to knock.

"Remus? Tonks?" said Ron, looking surprised.

"I'll just be on my way, see you next week!" said Becky, squeezing passed them.

"Thank you!" said Ron, waving to her.

"We need to talk to Harry and Ginny. Now." Said Lupin.

"Of course, come in" said Ron, opening the door for them.

Back in the living room, Ginny was holding Isabelle while Hermione rested. Harry was in the kitchen making tea.

"Ginny?" said Lupin, entering the room.

"Remus? How are you?" she said, surprised to see him.

"I'm well thank you, Tonks and I must speak with you and Harry though, in private if possible" said Lupin.

"Harry's in the kitchen…Ron?" Ginny said, gesturing that he should take the baby. Ginny followed Lupin into the kitchen, where Harry stood talking to Tonks.

"What's happened?" Harry asked, looking suspiciously at Lupin.

"We were called out to your house about an hour ago. There was a Muggle disturbance reported at your address, so Tonks and I were assigned to investigate. I'm not going to beat around the bush, Harry. There was a Dark Mark floating above your house."

"Malfoy" said Harry immediately, anger showing on his face.

"Don't jump to conclusions, Harry. We don't think it was" said Tonks.

"When we asked the Muggle crowd to disperse, someone was left standing there. They nodded, and Apparated. He had the wrong build to be Malfoy." Said Lupin.

"He hasn't been seen in ten years. How do you know?" Harry demanded.

"I don't, I can just guess" said Lupin.

"Harry, don't get like this. He's just causing you trouble. You know what he's like" said Ginny.

"No Dark Mark has been seen in the country for five years! What do you think this is? An idle threat?" Harry said.

"Look, whatever it is, we can't ruin Ron and Hermione's day like this. Harry, pull yourself together, and if you dare to anything stupid, you'll be out of the house before you can say Quidditch" Ginny said, glaring at her husband, who slumped his shoulders in defeat.

"Lets go and say bye to Ron and Hermione and head for home" he said, walking out of the kitchen, forgetting the tea he had just made.

Harry and Ginny said their goodbyes, and left the house shortly afterwards. Tonks and Lupin stayed to talk to Ron and Hermione about what had been found, and explained that special wards were in place over any potential targets. They soon left, leaving Ron and Hermione on their own. They sat together on the sofa, little Isabelle asleep in a crib beside them. Ron got up and looked in the crib, hardly daring to believe that he had a daughter, with very brown hair.

"Taken after you in the hair department, anyway" said Ron.

"I hope she hasn't taken after you in the eating department…" said Hermione, sleepily, smiling at her husband.

Ron kissed Isabelle's forehead, and sat down with his wife once again. The crackling of the fire in the grate was the only sound that disturbed their evening peace and quiet. Despite the darkness nagging at the back of their minds, they were too happy to dwell on it for long.

Authors Note:

Here it is, the latest instalment. After a long break, I've had a big writers block which I have only just overcome. Read, review and enjoy!


	10. My Training Day

Chapter 9 – How Long

Chapter 9 – My Training Day

"Wake up!!"

"Why??"

"Because you're meant to be leaving!"

"Why??"

"Because it's the beginning of your training!"

"Why??"

"Because you applied to do it"

"Why??"

"I'm not getting into this, Ginny…"

"Why??" said Ginny with a smile and a giggle.

"I thought you were the morning person!" Harry said, shifting in bed slightly.

"You have a good memory, dear" she replied with a sigh. She lifted herself out of the bed, and stretched. Throwing open the curtains, she laughed as Harry squinted and moaned in the sudden light of the September morning.

"Tea?"

"That would be wonderfully lovely" said Ginny, who had managed to drag herself out of bed.

"Looking forward to your day?" asked Harry.

"Nervous…starts with an introductory seminar on 'The Magic of Magical Law'" she paused "I think that's meant to be a joke, but you never can tell with academics…"

"It's going to be boring here without you" he said.

"I'm only going away during the day and some evenings; it's training! I've got lectures and seminars from 9 – 5, and then workshops 6 – 7. Doesn't take long to apparate now does it!" Ginny said, pulling off her pyjamas and walking to the bathroom, turning on the shower. "Besides, you work 9 - 6 most days anyway! You can cook for me!"

"Cook? You joking?"

"No, now leave me to my shower. Go make my tea!"

"Now tea I can just about manage." Replied the disgruntled husband, who donned the nearest dressing gown, and went downstairs.

oOo

Ginny had finally made up her mind. She had applied to three magical law colleges in England, one in Holland and another in Italy. Slightly luckily, she had been successful in her application to a law college located in North Wales, a nice secluded area of the country, which provided excellent cover for a Magical Further Education College. She had chosen Law because of an interest in books instilled in her by her friendship with Hermione, a friendship that had led onto catastrophic results in Ron's opinion, who felt that books were not necessary for anything much, that is unless of course they had the word Quidditch in the title. Several decisions had to be made, for example, where would Ginny live during her training, what would Harry do while she was training, and most importantly, what about their marriage? Two years was a long time, and only getting 5 weeks off each year, this was going to be difficult on a very new marriage. However, the answer that Ginny had given to these questions was quite simple:

"I'm living at home. We work the same hours, well, I work one more than you every day, and every five weeks once in a while, I'll be at home on my own studying, at the Burrow studying, or with my dear brother, cooing over his daughter."

That settled that problem.

Harry poured the boiling water from the kettle in to the tea pot, and waited for the toaster to finish. He reached into the fridge, poured a small amount of milk into two mugs, replaced the milk, and grabbed the butter as he did so. Stirring the tea in the pot whilst grabbing the hot toast from the toaster, he executed a much practiced morning routine. With the tea poured, the toasted buttered and jammed, he made his way back upstairs, hovering breakfast in front of him.

Ginny had just finished in the shower, and was in the process of drying her long red hair when Harry re-entered the room. He walked up behind her, placed the breakfast on the dresser in front of her, and kissed her shoulders, before being hit lightly on the head, with an admonishing look.

"Let me get dressed, and besides, you had your chance. You sleep too much." She said with a wink, sipping her hot tea, and taking a bite from her toast. "Pass me my hair brush, please."

With the hair brush in hand, Ginny began to rake it through her hair, a process that Harry grimaced at every morning. _'Surely that has to hurt!'_ he thought to himself. Ginny had taken to drying her hair magically (it was far too long bother faffing around with a hair dryer), but brushed it by hand. Hermione had been part of the influence on this one: Ginny had loved how different and natural her hair had felt after Hermione had brushed it for her on the wedding day. Shortly afterwards, Hermione had introduced her to a Muggle shop called Body Shop, which sold all sorts of wonderful things which Ginny loved at first site. Unfortunately, Harry's bank balance learned to hate this shop rather quickly.

"Where is it you have to go?" Harry asked from the bath.

"Aberystwyth first. Then I have to find the bus from the station to take me to the college"

"Bus? I thought this was magic law?"

"Well, there has to be someway of getting me there. All of the others used Portkeys, but I've just been given a picture of the town, a train timetable, and a road plan from the house. So they're obviously expecting people to use Muggle transport methods."

"Oh right. Hope you find it alright! You'll let me know when you arrive won't you?"

"Yes, my love. Don't you worry."

"Thanks" said Harry, smiling to himself in the bath.

"Is the paper here?" Ginny asked, getting up from the dressing table, and tying her hair back into a pony tail.

"Not yet I don't think. Didn't see it when I went downstairs, toast was more important at the time…"

"Didn't the Wizengamot vote on the electoral changes yesterday?"

"I think so, if so, it could mean we actually get to vote this year!"

"You know the ministry, any excuse not to implement a change!"

Ginny, having finished dressing made her way downstairs to the kitchen, not seeing a paper, decided to collect together what she needed. She found the letter detailing where she needed to be, and what she needed to bring:

_Dear Mrs Potter,_

_Congratulations! You have been accepted onto a place in the study of the Law of Magic at MFEC Aberystwyth. This letter will give you information about where you need to be, when you need to be there, and what exactly you will need to bring with you._

_All candidates are asked to arrive at Aberystwyth Railway station by midday on 27__th__ September 2003. From here, you will be transported via coach to our Campus. After the 27__th__, you may arrive at MFEC by any means you wish, whether by Floo, or by Apparition, but we do ask new students to arrive together for purposes of induction. _

_The Law Department has recommended the following core textbooks for this coming semester, which are listed below:_

_An Introduction to the Law of Magic – Albus Dumbledore_

_Examples and Practice of Magical Property Law – Gerald Peacock_

_The Law of Magic – A Dictionary of Terms._

_The Dictionary is a useful reference tool, and will help throughout your course. The two other books are exclusively for the modules you will be studying this semester. _

_Please be aware that this academic year runs from the 29__th__ September 2003 until the 14__th__ July 2004, with your Year 1 finals being held in the first 2 weeks in July. Progression to the second year is conditional on passing these exams. _

_Congratulations once again on your successful application, and we look forward to seeing you on the 27__th__ September._

_Geraldine Brydale_

_Admissions, Magical Further Education College - Aberystwyth._

"Harry!" Ginny yelled up the stairs.

"Yes…?" Harry said suspiciously.

"Can you pick up my two books from the bedroom? I need them for today. Oh, and also! While I'm out, can you put some washing in? Preferably that Quidditch kit that's been lying around all week…"

"Yes, dear…" Said Harry, thinking how marriage so easily turned into slavery.

oOo

Around two months after Ginny had left for her course, Harry was beginning to get restless. He and Ron had been spending a lot of time together and had been, behind their respective partners backs, been planning their future careers. This harked back to an idea that they had both had a long time in the past about becoming Aurors. After all that had happened in the Ministry just before the fall of Voldemort, a lot of trust had to be regained for Harry, and Ron had found himself having a hard time convincing Harry that it was not the place it was before; after all, how could it be? Hermione was working there for a start…

Elections were fast approaching for the Ministry of Magic, which had had a major shake up in leadership policy since the end of Voldemort's reign. The Minister of Magic and his faction in the Wizengamot were voted in by witches and wizards every 4 years. Despite this, no organised parties had sprung up, and many of the everyday administration staff in the Ministry remained the same, whoever the Minister of the day happened to be. At this moment, it was war veteran Kingsley Shacklebolt, who had been the author of the changes, and who had also been the only Minister since he was given Emergency Powers at the end of the battle to do what was necessary to restore trust in the Ministry which the Wizarding population of England had lost in the run up to the battle. He therefore had his work cut out for him, but it was clear that the wizarding population were confident that he could make the necessary changes.

One particular area that Kingsley was determined to change was law enforcement and Aurors. He needed this area of the Ministry to be full proof and away from the meddling of outside influence. In the time of the Death Eaters, the law enforcement wing had been the worst affected by Voldemort's infiltration. Therefore, there were a lot of openings for law enforcement officers, and Aurors. The plan that Ron and Harry had had was to apply to the training scheme for the Aurors, and see what happened thereafter. Neither of them wanted to become plain enforcement officers, although Ron hinted that after conversations with his father, that if either of them applied for enforcement officer roles, they would be declined and immediately transferred to the Aurors.

It was thus that late on a November Thursday afternoon, Harry received a letter stating that he had unconditionally been accepted into the Auror training programme, and would be assigned a camp and regiment as soon as a training position came available:

_Dear Mr Potter,_

_We welcome you unconditionally to the Ministry of Magic Auror Training Scheme. In this letter we hope to give you an idea of what you will need in the course of the training, and what you will be expected to do in the course of the training. _

_Training:_

_The training involves tests of competence in advanced defence and attack spells, flying ability (brooms and carpets only), apparition, and basic transfiguration and potions skills. These will be undertaken in the first two weeks of your training. Assuming one passes the initial phase of the training, one will move into the second four week phase, which will include training in Auror specific attack, defence and health spells. This four weeks will be followed by a week of tests to ensure competence of the new knowledge. After this initial seven weeks, there will be a week's respite where you will be allowed to return home. Following this week, you will be taken to Blandford Military Camp (Muggle Ministry of Defence) to learn the basics of Muggle weaponry, and the spells you can use to defend yourself against them. After this week at Blandford, you will then be assigned a regiment based on what you excelled in during training. Following this, you will be posted to your first location (please note that this may not necessarily be in the United Kingdom)_.

_Postings:_

_These can be in the United Kingdom, but other locations include Eastern Europe, the USA, and South America. For new recruits, however, it is unlikely that you will be posted abroad._

_Regiments:_

_You will be assigned into one of six regiments, depending on what you are best suited to:_

_1__st__ Ravens Regiment of Bangor – Ground attack and defence_

_2__nd__ Hippogriffs Regiment of Edinburgh – Air attack and defence_

_1__st__ Aural Regiment – Communications_

_1__st__ Badgers Regiment of Paisley – Ground backup and support_

_1__st__ Eagle Regiment of Boston – International Regiment_

_2__nd__ Eagle Regiment of Berlin – International Regiment_

_Assignments:_

_These will be announced as and when the come up as well as your weekly duties. You will be expected to always be in a state of readiness to attend an assignment. Failure to attend an assignment without due reason will be treated as a serious disciplinary matter._

_Details of your initial training will be sent to you as and when there is a place available._

_Sincerely,_

_Willius Bentarck_

_Senior Leader ATU (Auror Training Unit) 1__st__ Ravens Regiment._

Now all he had to do was tell Ginny...


End file.
